Diaper



p 16,1952 M. A. HAWKINS 2,610,629

DIAPER Filed March 31, 1950 Patented Sept. 16, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DIAPER Maybelle A. Hawkins, Highland Park, 111.

Application March 31, 1950, Serial No. 153,222

1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to the sampling of infants excretion, and more particularly to a novel method and means for obtaining such samples, particularly of urine.

For many years, hospital attendants have been troubled by the problem of obtaining urine sam ples from infants, and much time has been expendedin obtaining these samples.

One solution has been the positioning of absorbent pads of material such as cotton in the infants diapers, however it has been found that reaction of the urine with such pads. render the samples useless for certain purposes.

' Accordingly it has been the practice for an attendant to remain with each infant until a sample has been obtained therefrom, and it will be understood that this is a time consuming and therefore expensive task.

A primary object of the present invention is to devise a simple and economical method and means for obtaining pure samples of excretion from infants without the necessity of remaining in attendance thereon.

A further object of the invention is to devise a novel method and means for obtaining such samples in adequate quantity for testing purposes.

A different object of the invention is to prevent spilling of urine samples by eliminating the necessity for pouring it from the initial container.

Another object of the invention is to devise a novel diaper comprising a waterproof container which may be securely fastened between the infant's legs to prevent leakage of urine therefrom. The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following specification and the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 shows an infant with the novel diaper tied thereto;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary, enlarged view, showing the infant with the novel diaper applied thereto by pins;

Figure 3 is a plan view of a segment of transparent plastic material from which the diaper may be formed;

Figure 4 is a side elevational view of the finished diaper after the sides of its container have been scaled; and

Figure 5 illustrates the manner in which the urine may be obtained from the diaper without risk of spilling or contamination.

Describing the invention in detail and referring first to Figures 3 and 4, a preferred embodiment of diaper is shown, wherein as best seen in Figure 3 a single flat segment of waterproof, preferably transparent, plastic is cut to a shape in the general form of an hourglass, although, if desired, a plurality of sections may be joined together in any desired manner to form the segment 2.

It may be noted that the segment 2 comprises tapering portions 4 and 6 joined integrally (or in any other manner ensuring a waterproof connection) at their smallest ends. The portion 4 comprises edges 8 and [0 adapted to be sealed in any desired manner as at H (Figure 4) to edges [2 and [4, respectively, of the portion 6, thereby forming a waterproof container generally designated It as shown in Figure 4.

The portion 4 of the container is connected to I flaps l8 and 20 at opposite sides thereof, said flaps preferably being integrally joined to each other to form a band extending across and connected to the upper edge of the container l6 at the front or rear end thereof. The portion 6 is connected to flaps 22 and 24 at opposite sides thereof, said flaps preferably being integrally joined to each other to form another band extending across and integrally connected to the upper edge of the container IE5 at the other end thereof. Thus flaps l8 and 22 define a leg recess and flaps 20 and 24 define another leg recess, so that the container It may be secured between the legs of an infant as shown in Figure 2.

The flaps I8 and 22 at one side of the container may be wrapped together around the infant and pinned as at 26, and the flaps 20 and 24 at the other side of the container may be wrapped together aroundthe infant and pinned as at 28. Or, if desired, as shown in Figure 1, the pair of flaps at each side of the container may be snugly tied together as at 30.

Figure 5 shows the manner in which a urine sample may be obtained from the container l6 without the necessity of pouring and consequent risk of spilling. After the diaper has been removed, the upper end of the container l6 may be firmly grasped in one hand by an attendant 32 who may then pierce the bottom of the container with'a needle 34 and permit the urine to drain into a container 35. If desired the container may be squeezed to accelerate flow of the urine, and also if desired the container l6 may be punctured before removal of the diaper.

I claim:

An excretion sampling diaper comprising a waterproof container having a pair of spaced integral flaps extending from each side thereof, the flaps at the front of the container being joined to each other and the flaps at the rear of the container being joined to each other and being separable from the flaps at the front of the container, whereby each pair of flaps maybe detachably secured to each other around the body of an infant to secure the diaper thereto.

MAYBELLE A. HAWKINS.

REFERENCES CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Chambers Nov. 14, 1950 Number 

